Between 1634 and 2009,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
was administered as several provinces ( fi, Suomen läänit, sv, Finlands
län
Län (Swedish, ), lääni (Finnish, ) and len (Norwegian, ) refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland and Norway. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010. In Norway, the term was in use betw ...
). Finland had always been a
unitary state
A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...
: the provincial authorities were part of the central government's executive branch and apart from
Åland
Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...
, the provinces had little autonomy. There were never any elected provincial parliaments in continental Finland. The system was initially created in 1634. Its makeup was changed drastically on 1 September 1997,
when the number of the provinces was reduced from twelve to six. This effectively made them purely administrative units, as linguistic and cultural boundaries no longer followed the borders of the provinces. The provinces were eventually abolished at the end of 2009. Consequently, different ministries may subdivide their areal organization differently. Besides the former provinces, the
municipalities of Finland
The municipalities ( fi, kunta; sv, kommun) represent the local level of administration in Finland and act as the fundamental, self-governing administrative units of the country. The entire country is incorporated into municipalities and legall ...
form the fundamental subdivisions of the country. In current use are the
regions of Finland
Finland is divided into 19 regions ( fi, maakunta; sv, landskap)., smn, eennâmkodde, and sms, mäddkåʹdd.
The regions are governed by regional councils that serve as forums of cooperation for the Municipalities of Finland, municipalities ...
, a smaller subdivision where some pre-1997 ''lääni''s are split into multiple regions.
Åland
Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...
retains its special autonomous status and
its own regional parliament.
Duties
Each province was led by a governor (Finnish ''maaherra'', Swedish ''landshövding'') appointed by the president on the recommendation of the cabinet. The governor was the head of the State Provincial Office (Finnish ''lääninhallitus'', Swedish ''länsstyrelse''), which acted as the joint regional authority for seven ministries in the following domains:
*social services and health care
*education and culture
*police administration
*rescue services
*traffic administration
*competition and consumer affairs
*judicial administration
The official administrative subentities under the Provincial Office authorities were the Registry Offices (Finnish ''maistraatti'', Swedish ''magistrat''). Formerly there was also a division to state local districts (Finnish ''kihlakunta'', Swedish ''härad''), which were districts for police, prosecution, and bailiff services, but there was reorganization such that 24 police districts were founded. These usually encompass multiple municipalities.
Provinces governed only state offices, such as the police. Most services, such as healthcare and maintenance of local streets, were and remain today the responsibility of
municipalities of Finland
The municipalities ( fi, kunta; sv, kommun) represent the local level of administration in Finland and act as the fundamental, self-governing administrative units of the country. The entire country is incorporated into municipalities and legall ...
. Many municipalities are too small for a hospital and some other services, so they cooperate in municipality groups, e.g. health care districts, using borders that vary depending on the type of service. Often Swedish-language municipalities cooperate even if they do not share a border.
List of all provinces that ever existed
In 1634, administratives provinces were formed in Sweden, and therefore in Finland, which was a part of Sweden until 1809. Five of the provinces covered what is now Finland; some of these also covered parts of what are now Russia. The exact division of the country into provinces has fluctuated over time.
The boundaries of the old provinces partly survive in telephone area codes and electoral districts. The exception is Helsinki: there is a telephone numbering area that comprises Greater Helsinki (code 09), while only the city of Helsinki proper comprises the electoral district of Helsinki, the rest of Greater Helsinki belonging to the Uusimaa electoral district.
Geographical evolution of provincial administration
Provinces of Finland at abolition
a. Some duties, which in Mainland Finland
Mainland Finland ( fi, Manner-Suomi, sv, Fasta Finland) is a term used in statistics and in other contexts to describe the continental parts of Finland, an area which excludes Åland. In legal contexts, the relation between the mainland and Åland ...
are handled by the provinces, are on the Åland Islands transferred to the autonomous Government of Åland
The ''Landskapsregering'' is the government of Åland, an autonomous region of Finland. The government is led by a Lantråd, the premier of Åland, who is elected by the '' Lagting'', the parliament of Åland.
List of Premiers of Åland (since 1 ...
.
b. The Åland Islands are unilingually Swedish.
After abolition
The provinces were abolished altogether effective 1 January 2010. Since then, the regional administration of the Finnish state has two parallel top-level organs in the hierarchy: the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment on the one hand, and the
Regional State Administrative Agencies
The Regional State Administrative Agencies ( fi, aluehallintovirasto, avi, sv, regionförvaltningsverk) are a set of top-level regional organs of the state of Finland, mainly in charge of basic public services and legal permits. Six agencies took ...
on the other.
Five Regional State Administrative Agencies (''aluehallintovirasto, regionförvaltningsverk'', abbr. ''avi'') – in addition to the
State Department of Åland – are primarily responsible for law enforcement. Among these,
South-Western Finland and
Western and Central Finland cover
the former province of Western Finland, and
the former province of Oulu was revamped as Northern Finland; other old provincial boundaries remain much the same in the new disposition.
In parallel, there are 15 Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (Finnish: ''elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus'', usually abbreviated ''ely-keskus''), which are responsible for other state administration: employment, road and transport infrastructure, and environmental monitoring. They are each responsible for one or more of
regions of Finland
Finland is divided into 19 regions ( fi, maakunta; sv, landskap)., smn, eennâmkodde, and sms, mäddkåʹdd.
The regions are governed by regional councils that serve as forums of cooperation for the Municipalities of Finland, municipalities ...
, and include offices of the Ministries of
Employment and the Economy,
Transport and Communications and Environment.
See also
*
Historical provinces of Finland
The historical provinces ( fi, historialliset maakunnat, singular ''historiallinen maakunta'', sv, historiska landskap) of Finland are a legacy of the country's joint history with Sweden. The provinces ceased to be administrative entities in 1634 ...
*
ISO 3166-2:FI
*
NUTS statistical regions of Finland
*
Provincial Governors of Finland
The Governor, fi, Maaherra, or sv, Landshövding, of a province of Finland headed the activities of the State Provincial Office, fi, Lääninhallitus, links=no, or sv, Länsstyrelse, links=no until the end of 2009, when the provinces were ...
*
Regions of Finland
Finland is divided into 19 regions ( fi, maakunta; sv, landskap)., smn, eennâmkodde, and sms, mäddkåʹdd.
The regions are governed by regional councils that serve as forums of cooperation for the Municipalities of Finland, municipalities ...
*
Subdivisions of the Nordic countries
References
External links
State Provincial Officesfficial site
{{Terms for types of country subdivisions
Lists of subdivisions of Finland
Lists of populated places in Finland
2010 disestablishments in Finland